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Hezbollah Twists Western Ideas and Values — and the Media Helps Them
Supporters of Hezbollah attend a protest organized by them against what they said was a violation of national sovereignty, near Beirut international airport, Lebanon, Feb. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Emilie Madi
In his recent speech, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem demanded that Israel respect the ceasefire agreement and withdraw from southern Lebanon by February 18 (which Israel has done).
Qassem framed the issue as a matter of “national sovereignty” and condemned any delay as “implementing the demands of the occupation.”
Major media outlets — including Voice of America, France 24, ABC News, and Reuters — picked up his statements with little scrutiny.
These reports followed stories of a woman killed and several others wounded while trying to return to their villages on Sunday, February 16 — two days before the withdrawal deadline.
Voice of America, in the very last paragraph of its report (where fewer readers are likely to see it), mentioned that the Lebanese army had actually warned citizens not to enter areas where its troops had not yet deployed. None of these outlets included the IDF’s account, which stated that it had fired warning shots after spotting unidentified individuals gathering in a military zone.
The framing in these reports is unmistakable: civilians trying to return home, only to be killed and wounded by “occupation” forces poised to violate international agreements.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah — the supposed defender of the people — invokes “sovereignty.” It all fits neatly into a narrative designed to evoke sympathy from Western readers, making it easy to distinguish good (Hezbollah) from evil (Israel).
But here’s the reality: Hezbollah, designated as a terrorist organization in the US, much of Europe, and by many Arab countries, isn’t fighting for actual sovereignty or national independence. Anyone familiar with its history knows that Hezbollah exploits these concepts to justify its own armed control over Lebanon, all with the Iranian regime’s backing.
And despite its rhetoric about international agreements, it is Hezbollah that has systematically violated those very agreements.
Take UN Resolution 1701, for example.
Signed by Lebanon in 2006, it required all armed groups in the country to disarm, allowing only the Lebanese Armed Forces to possess weapons. Hezbollah never complied.
Instead, it amassed a vast arsenal, smuggling in weapons from Iran via Syria. Beginning on October 8, 2023, Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israeli towns almost daily until Israel finally retaliated.
By November 2024, 45 Israeli civilians had been killed, over 60,000 residents had fled their homes, and countless businesses and farms were destroyed.
Yet Hezbollah isn’t the only one with a selective memory when it comes to international agreements. The UN has largely ignored Hezbollah’s blatant violations of Resolution 1701. No new resolutions have been passed calling on Lebanon to enforce it. Meanwhile, since the IDF entered Gaza in October 2023, Western media have meticulously covered Israel’s military operations. Hezbollah’s near-daily rocket attacks, which forced millions of Israelis into shelters, have been relegated to footnotes — if they’re mentioned at all.
After all, the media are far less interested in the casualties of the “oppressor.”
And what does Hezbollah’s version of “sovereignty” actually mean? In Europe, national sovereignty is understood as an expression of the people’s will, not the ability of armed militias to impose their rule.
Qassem himself made Hezbollah’s stance clear:
The problem is not that [Lebanese authorities] are ensuring the safety of civilians at a difficult time,” Qassem said. “The problem is that this is the implementation of Israel’s command. We are facing a real problem. Where is the national sovereignty? Are we employees of Israel, implementing the demands of the occupation?” [emphasis added]
In other words, Hezbollah sees protecting civilians as a concession to Israel. This isn’t about sovereignty — it’s about control.
Hezbollah’s authority is built on fear, and Western media, whether through omission or framing, keep providing it with cover.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Hezbollah Twists Western Ideas and Values — and the Media Helps Them first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.